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Sunday, February 28, 2016

Hello, readers! With an added day this year, I’ve also included an added
post! I was recently nominated for the Infinity Dreams Award, a blogger tag for
writers so that readers can get to know them. Thanks again for the
nomination by movie critic and blogger S. M. “Tea” Metzler (Tea with Tumnus). I can make no promises to keep this post
short.

Infinity Dreams Award rules:

1)Thank
and follow the blog that nominated you.

2)Tell
us 11 facts about yourself.

3)Answer
the questions that were set for you to answer.

4)Nominate
11 bloggers and set questions for them.

11 Facts About Me

Despite having nearly every clothing article imaginable in purple, I am not obsessed with the color. It’s one of those things where once somebody finds out you like something, that’s all they’ll give you. Yes, I like purple, but I also like a bit of variety, thank you very much.

I have lived in three different countries excluding my home country: Germany, Italy, and England. No, I don’t have a favorite.

I can speak survival German and Italian, meaning I can order food and ask for basic directions.

My favorite type of chocolate changes from year to year. Right now it’s white chocolate. And if you don’t like chocolate, SO HELP ME… that’s fine. More for me.

I have a scar on my right arm from running into a fence.

I prefer pie to cake. But I really like cheesecake and zupfkuchen, a Russian cheesecake with cherries, a chocolate crust, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Yes, it is as heavenly as it sounds!

Zupfkucken: a little piece of heaven.

Photo credit: Michael T. Klein

I have tried a variety of sports from ice skating to sailing to horseback riding to fencing. I’ve spent the longest time horseback riding (mostly Western, but I’ve done English), and I’m currently learning to fence using the foil (the bendy sword).

I despise stereotypes and like thinking outside the box.

I’ve never lived in the same house for longer than three years, and I can’t stand having my room with the same setup for longer than six months.

I have a God-given tattoo (aka. a birthmark) in the shape of an angel on my right ankle.

Although I don’t care for movies, I will randomly toss out movie quotes in most conversations. My immediate family members are obsessed with movies, so quotes are something I’ve picked up as a means of basic communication.

Questions Set by Tea

1) Your book has been published and you are
asked for permission to make it into a feature film. You say yes. Which
actor/actress would you pick for your main character?

Tough question! I’m not very good at naming actors
in general, so I’m not really sure. I’d prefer a talented, young actress who
is generally unheard or just starting her career. I think big-name actors
might have too many other characters associated with them.

2) Dream job? No matter how ambitious?

Shieldmaiden of
Rohan. I could live in Middle Earth, horseback ride with some of my favorite
characters, and wield a sword. I see no downsides to this. Except perhaps orcs…
and creepy men… and ring wraiths… On second thought, maybe there are some
downsides. Realistically, I’d like to be an author who can afford to write full
time and attend writer’s conferences on a yearly basis.

3) If you had a superpower what would it be?

One of my favorite questions! I always have a hard
time picking between two. 1) Chameleon powers: the ability to climb well, look
in two different directions at once, and camouflage myself. 2) The power of
suggestion: a telepathic ability to implant/suggest thoughts, such as the
slamming of a door, a phone ringing, or a bug bite, etc. It may seem small, but
there is so much I could do with it.

4) Who is your favorite character to write and
why?

It’s a tie between two characters. First, I enjoyed
writing Thane, one of Lorne’s friends from Breaking
a Thief. I like him because even despite his shortcomings and obvious
blunders, he shows great courage when everybody expects it of him the least.

Another character I’ve enjoy writing is a
more recent one—Finley Craig, another supporting character in my latest
project. Though he’s defiant and reckless, he knows how to see a job through to
the end.

5) What kind of music do you enjoy listening
to while writing? If it helps you write, how?

Movie soundtracks. They help my mind get into a
certain mood. For example, if I’m writing fantasy, I’ll usually listen to Thor
or How to Train Your Dragon, but I listened to the Sherlock Holmes soundtracks
while writing Breaking a Thief. Soundtracks help me to focus and encourage me
to write faster when the tempo picks up.

6) Currently, your favorite book quote?

“‘I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any
Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there
isn’t any Narnia.’” –Puddleglum, The
Silver Chair

7) If you were allowed to meet just one
fictional character, who would you pick?

Just one? But… But… Fine. Mo from Inkheart. Then I could meet ANY
fictional character! Because that never ends badly…

8) How would you like your writing to impact
your readers?

I want to be able to move my readers. To make them
laugh and cry. I want readers to be inspired and to be able to relate on a
personal level with at least one character. Even if readers don’t remember my
name or the plotline, I’d like something in the story to encourage them to
reflect on life.

9) Your arch enemy? (Doesn’t have to be a
person.)

Self-doubt and Fear. I can be my biggest critic
and have a tendency to overthink everything. Many times I assume that I’m not
good enough and won’t be able to achieve anything… despite how far I’ve already
come.

10)Tea or coffee?

Both! I prefer strong teas that aren’t fruity,
especially spiced chai, lemon ginger, and mint tea. As for coffee, I like it
strong and black, but I also drink cappuccinos and espresso macchiato on a
weekly basis.

11)If you could travel to just one
destination in all of your favorite fandoms/books/movies, where would you go?

Another difficult question. There are so many
places I’d like to visit and things I’d want to do and see and people I’d want
to talk to. But if I could pick only one, I’d probably visit the Silver Sea
from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This
particular book from The Chronicles has so many portions of sheer wonder. As
the characters draw closer and closer to the end of the world, gradually being
able to look straight at the sun as they live on light, I’m reminded of the
parallels of being so close to heaven. Wouldn’t it be something to travel so
close to Aslan’s country?

Sunday, February 21, 2016

I really like words. A lot. In fact, I enjoy writing so much
that I often have a hard time saying exactly what I mean in few words. Yes,
it’s achievable, but I find it much easier to write ALL MY THOUGHTS when I
should keep things short and simple. This has pros and cons. For one, writing
essays is (sometimes) easier. As is coming up with a novel. Because once I have
an idea, I already have 3 or more subplots and a character death or two already
planned out.

But there can be beauty in simplicity too.

Although I wrote my first novel at twelve, I didn’t get my
first story published until I was seventeen. And it was a piece of flash
fiction—less than 1,000 words. While I haven’t stopped writing novels, I went
on to publish two more flash fiction pieces before I decided to tackle editing
a novel.

I knew such a project would be more ambitious than any I had
attempted before. Sure, I had edited a novel before, back when I was fourteen,
but nothing ever became of the project aside from my learning experience. So it
was that I approached a 72,000-word story and decided to completely re-work it
until I was pleased or close to satisfied or ready to give up with frustration
because goodness, why can’t novels edit themselves?

During my multi-draft process, of rewriting and editing, and
receiving feedback from my beta readers and my editor, I learned a valuable
lesson. Editing what became a novel story really wasn’t that different from
editing a 1,000-word one. But what, you may ask, could editing flash fiction
and editing a novel possibly have in common?

1.Flash
fiction and novels both have word limits.

Wait a minute. Aren’t novels SIGNIFICANTLY longer than short
stories? Yes, they are. But unless you’re writing War and Peace or The Lord of
the Rings, you’re going to face some restrictions on how many words your
novel can have. Too short, and you’re writing a novella. Too long, and your
story probably won’t be taken seriously by a publisher/literary agent.

Different novels will have different restrictions depending
on the genre. Young adult, for example, can be anywhere from 50,000-80,000
words. But since I like long books, I decided to add some things to my novel
and ended up with 90,000 words in draft 2.

That’s where my previous experience editing flash fiction
came in handy. I was already used to cutting words, paragraphs, and scenes
trying to get a short story below 1,000 words, so I used the same basic
principles with my novel. Basically, if it a sentence didn’t contribute to the
plot, I cut it. If a paragraph bored me, I cut it. If I questioned a scene’s
very necessity and worth, I cut it.

In the end, I managed to trim my bulky 90,000-word novel
down to a neat 79,765 words, just within the recommended limits for a YA novel.

2.Flash
fiction and novels both have plot.

I should think this one is quite obvious. But just because
flash fiction is short doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the basic structure of a
novel. Although the inciting incident and the climax may not be nearly as drawn
out as in a novel, short stories still have them.

Personally, writing flash fiction pieces helped me most with
these two points. If I couldn’t figure out where to start the story right away,
I would write WAY over 1,000 words and have to scrap the entire story. But once
I figured out the perfect opening lines, the rest fell into place.

Except for the ending. Writing endings are easy. Writing
GOOD endings are the bane of my existence. But trying out different endings
over the course of multiple drafts was really helpful in writing flash fiction.
It helped me realize how much I struggle with them and how helpful it can be to
receive feedback on such plot points prior to submissions. I would not have
been able to write ANY good endings without the help of my friends.

3.Writing
and editing flash fiction and novels both taught me that being a writer is a
TON of work.

And I mean a TON. Personally, I worked with a lot of drafts
in my novel. So many, I lost count, but I’d estimate close to five. That’s a 1)
rough draft, 2) a rewrite, 3) first round of feedback, 4) second round of
feedback, and 5) professional and final edits.

Actually, this is pretty decent, considering most of my
flash fiction stories underwent five to seven rounds of edits before they were
ready for publication. So five drafts over the period of several months felt
pretty good.

Of course, every writer is different, so the editing process
and time is bound to vary from writer to writer. But if you can’t handle the process
and effort of editing a 1,000-word story, editing a 50,000-or-more-word story
is probably not for you.

***

Basically, the main difference between editing a flash
fiction piece and editing a novel is time. Flash fiction can take a couple of
hours, maybe a day, but a novel can take weeks if not months.

So if you usually write novel-length projects, don’t be afraid
to try something different. Like a flash fiction piece. Or a couple blog posts.
All writing is a learning experience. And if you’ve completed a novel-length
story but haven’t edited it yet, what are you waiting for?

How many drafts does it usually take you to polish a story?
Have you ever considered writing something aside from your usual length? If you
have done so, what did you learn?

Sunday, February 14, 2016

No, this isn’t your typical Valentine’s Day post. First off,
let me clarify that I have nothing against romance. Sometimes I may actually
find myself shipping characters. But most of the time, I try to avoid strictly
romantic novels because I’m not so much interested in the gushy love as I am
the actual relationships between characters whether romantic or not.

Secondly, allow me to clarify what I mean by romance novels. I’m not referring to the
literary term romance novels, a type
of prose that we would associate with adventure today (eg. Le Morte Darthur). By romance novels, I mean the popular term
referring to novels centered on two characters who fall in love. Here are just
a few of the reasons I don’t prefer to read this type of romance:

1) Predictability.

I find romance novels predictable because they all progress
the same way and have two different endings: the couple gets together or one/both of
them die. Because of this predictability, there are many restrictions for the
genre. Because of spoilers, I will refrain from listing a bunch of examples,
but the stereotype I would say is Romeo
and Juliet.

Some other genres, however, do not act this way. Historical
fiction, for example, can have several different kinds of plots and subplots,
and mystery deals specifically with the unpredictable and little details. Generally
speaking, when I’m looking for a good book to read, I prefer something that
will not just make me feel something but also make me think.

John Green’s The Fault
in Our Stars is an exception to this point. While some of its aspects are
predictable, and self-consciously so, it made me think on life, relationships,
and mortality. If an author, like Green, can acknowledge predictability and
handle it in a way that still moves and audience, I’ll probably enjoy the book.

2) Sentimentality.

Said in my best Sherlock impression: “Sentiment.”

If there’s anything that annoys me more than a boring book,
it’s one that appeals so much to feelings that it’s not only un-relatable but
also unrealistic. I could compare my general dislike for romantic
sentimentality to my original dislike for musicals. You know the kind, where
the whole story comes to a complete stop for the characters to sing a dramatic
song that has absolutely nothing to do with the plot. It’s moments like these I
would roll my eyes and just say, “Okay. I get it. Can we please get back to the
story!”

I’m not a big fan of gushy, feel-good types of stories. And
while I can sometimes tolerate a kissing scene, full out make out sessions
between characters are annoying, and sex scenes are a complete turn off. I have
stopped reading several books, including some historical fiction novels, for the
latter reason.

3) Popularity.

And a very pretty copy it is!

Romance novels tend
to be popular, not literary fiction. Notice how I wrote TEND not ARE. Yes, you
have books like Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. (I have yet to read
the latter. Don’t worry, it’s on my list. It has to be. I own a copy. See right.) But
many, not all, romance novels today tend to lack the literary qualities that I
enjoy so much. Instead, they attempt to appeal to a wider audience for the sake of
popularity.

And just because everybody else is reading a novel is not a
great reason I should. While there are plenty of bestselling authors whose
books I have not read, there are many fantastic authors whose books I
thoroughly enjoy but nobody has heard of. This is not to say that I prefer the
obscure, but there’s something charming about having read a book without an
overwhelming fandom. You don’t get all the drama. Of course, that won’t stop me
from trying to recommend unknown books to all my friends.

***

Sure, I enjoy a well-written romantic subplot. In fact, whenever
the romance doesn’t dominate the plot, I find myself enjoying the relationships
and will actually ship characters. Some great examples include The Scorpio Races and The Alliance Series. When an author
first gets me to care about the characters, then I’ll care about the romances
between them.

I’ve heard it said that the biggest romantics are those who
deny they’re romantics at all. Whether this post says anything about me, I’ll let
you decide. Despite all my rantings, I don’t have anything against romance in a
story. I just don’t think it should be the main focus. Personally, I prefer YA
adventure, mysteries, and all sorts of fantasy.

Just like the historical fiction fan may find it difficult
to enjoy a sci-fi novel, so the swashbuckling adventurer in me has a hard time
enjoying romantic-centered books. Perhaps that’s why I enjoy The Princess Bride so much. The book has
a little bit of everything—humor, swordfights, logic, betrayal—and yeah, I
guess the romance isn’t so bad after all.

What’s YOUR favorite genre to read? What are some of the
books you’ve read with well-written romantic subplots? And for the sake of
Valentine’s day, who’s your favorite fictional couple?

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Despite
my general dislike for most movies, every now and then, I see one that really
speaks to me and makes me think. Last year, my mom and I watched Words, a film about writers and a book
within a book. Without giving too much away, the movie made me reflect on the
way I care about my stories and the way I care about people. It also made me
think about my own writing and my fear that my words will never be good enough.

Right
after the movie, I rushed downstairs, my fingers itching to type something to
capture such thoughts. I knew I had to write. But what could I say? How could I
reflect upon a good film without being pretentious? The following poem is the
result.